Four years ago, 12 young boys and their soccer coach found themselves trapped in Thailand’s flooded Tham Luang Nang Non cave, leading to an arduous rescue effort that lasted 18 days and made international headlines. A recent movie addressed the subject. Director Ron Howard's Hollywoodized film, Thirteen Lives, has a star-studded cast and high production standards. Although, there were two movies having the same storyline before its release, it is still the most polished and well-rounded version of the story. Free Thirteen Lives online to watch.
Story of Thirteen Lives
The movie, as you probably already know, tells the story of the heroic efforts of real-life British divers Rick Stanton (Viggo Mortensen) and John Volanthen (Colin Farrell), as well as the many brave people who helped them, to save the 13 people trapped inside the flooded, chilly, and labyrinthine cave system.
In order to celebrate one of the kids' birthdays, the football team went into the caverns in June 2018. However, because of the heavy rain, their celebrations had to be cut short when they realized they had no way out of the caves. The local authorities were contacted by the parents of the boys after they failed to return home, and a rescue operation was launched to save the lives of the young players before more flooding occurred.
Faced with unfathomable obstacles, a team of the world's most proficient and experienced divers join Thai troops and more than 10,000 volunteers to try an agonizing rescue of the twelve boys and their coach. With the stakes unimaginably high and the entire world watching, the gang goes on their most difficult dive yet, demonstrating the limitlessness of the human spirit in the process.
The Thai Navy Seals, the Beijing Peaceland Foundation, the Australian Specialist Response Group, and the British Cave Rescue Council, which was represented by Stanton and Volanthen, all became involved in the effort.
Two unassuming men in Thirteen Lives
Rick Stanton (Viggo Mortensen) & John Volanthen (Colin Farrell）
Ron Howard’s Thirteen Lives marvels at two ordinary men: Rick Stanton and John Volanthen, played by Viggo Mortensen and Colin Farrell with their appeal cranked down to the point where these magnetic movie stars resemble spit wads left to air-dry. The two rumpled and graying Brits don't appear or behave heroic. "I don't even like kids," Rick replies, mercifully not in front of the camera, from which both men retreat like hypersensitive bats.
Yet, Rick and John are among the rare cave divers who have the physical and mental fortitude to endure a six-hour scuba-suit spelunking through small crevices in near-zero visibility as fanged stalactites scrape against their air tanks. It's no surprise that neither they nor William Nicholson's script, based on his and Don MacPherson's narrative, have time for foolishness. This is a practical account of a near-impossible mission: first, discover the imprisoned youngsters, and then, far more difficult, swim them out.
Lens Language in Thirteen Lives
The cave rescue is described in clinical detail by screenwriter William Nicholson, who is no stranger to creating plays about courageous treks under impossible situations (after adapting 2015's Everest).
Howard projects computer schematics onto the screen, depicting the cavers' progress and providing temporal readouts that emphasize the roughly 7-hour trip down small channels and against rushing currents to reach the soccer team.
Titles also serve as a reminder of how many days have passed. Fortunately, production designer Molly Hughes convincingly recreates the cave interiors, and cameraman Sayombhu Mukdeeprom captures the actors plunging (several of whom were qualified divers for the film) with claustrophobic effects. Despite the potential for such a reaction, Thirteen Lives is far from a squirm-inducing thriller.
The film appears to be more interested in the procedure than in the individuals who carry it out. Even performers like Mortensen and Farrell can't offer these characters much substance beyond the occasional irascible comment or anxious face.
Reasons for watching Thirteen Lives
The film has an approval rating of 86% based on 163 reviews on the review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes, with an average rating of 7.3/10. The film has a weighted average score of 66 out of 100 on Metacritic, signifying “generally good reviews.”
“Steadily helmed by filmmaker Ron Howard, Thirteen Lives presents an imperfect but nevertheless captivating depiction of an astonishing true event," according to the website's review.
Ron Howard’s Thirteen Lives runs for a whopping 150 minutes. However, 150 minutes for a film is nothing compared to the 18 days spent by the Thai football team and their coach in the flooded Tham Luang cave. Still, if you're concerned about sitting on your sofa for two and a half hours, know this: Thirteen Lives is a fascinating and riveting film, so despite your 'discomfort' with sitting for too long, you're unlikely to walk away feeling your time was wasted. Free movies to watch online.
More Info for Thirteen Lives
- Genre: Drama
- Original Language: English
- Director: Ron Howard
- Cast: Viggo Mortensen, Colin Farrell, Joel Edgerton, Tom Bateman
- Release Date (Theaters): Jul 29, 2022, Limited
- Release Date (Streaming): Aug 5, 2022
- Runtime: 2h 22m